first time entree on this site for real, for once anyways..I don't like showing the world how I feel about things. It's just not how I am, but I guess why the hell not..you only live once right?

ok so, let's see..my name is Ari, this up coming Saturday I am traveling back home to my mums. In some ways I'm alright with it...because I get to see my mum and old friends, in other ways it's kinda depressing, because I have to deal with alot of family drama..which is mainly created...wait never mind scratch that lol..it's created by all of them together, was gonna say my mum in particular but yea..no it's all of them. To put it simply my family or my mum are hoarders, and for those of you that don't know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsive_hoarding I think it has got too out of control, if there was something I could do about it I would have ages ago.

To have a better understanding of how much I hate that, they are like that...I'd rather sit through a person being mauled by a tiger to death..than have to deal with that bullshit.

any who, I love my mum regardless, just not living with all the constant fighting and drama. Moving on, I'm looking forward to seeing my best friend Jeff whom I havent seen in awhile. He finally has a new girl friend and I'm really happy for him, although the other day I was a little concerned, it got quickly cleared up with my help and or advice on the matter. I ended up missing my friend Ashly's Birthday, which sux but also I dont know even if I was there...well the question flashes in my mind "do I really care?" "would I even of had any fun?"...honestly no and probably not...as shitty as it sounds..her parties just aren't that fun anymore..and another thing is our friendship has slowly deteriorated over the years.

It's gotten to the point where, we just check up on each other now and again, have a short conversation and that's it. I'm not going to point fingers and say she did it first, she messed it up...no it was both of us. But hey you find out who your true friends are in the end.

So I'm flying out this Saturday around 9pm ish instead of the morning, flight got changed due to over crowding and seating issues of some sort. I really don't care. In other news I'm still waiting on my wig delivery to come in the mail, they said it would be by the end of the week, but I highly doubt it..oh well..and yea I'm getting a wig cuz I think it's cute. It's a light blonde wig, i said to myself why not, I don't have to go through the hassle of bleaching my hair to hell, and I can look instantly cute. But any who if I don't receive it by then I'll just have someone at the house ship it to me.

oh and last but not least, I have a special someone , and I just wanted to say aloud how much he means to me. Baby, since we've met you have made everyday oh so special to me, you always know just what to say to make me smile. You're always on my mind, I don't know what I'd do without you in my life. I love you with all my heart and no one will ever change that. I love you because you listen to me, because you respect who i am. I love you because of your sweetness, your kindness, your tenderness, and your thoughtfulness. I'm ecstatic to have a future with you and I never want to let that go.luv u baby xoxoxoxo

­Some people might be hesitant to admit that they believe in ghosts. But if you've ever heard a chilling bump in the night when you're home alone, ghosts might not be such a leap of faith. In fact, just over a third of American adults believe in ghosts [source: Adweek]. Perhaps more surprising is that 23 percent of adults polled said they'd personally seen or felt a ghost [source: Adweek].

Every October, thousands of people pay to walk through commercial ­haunted houses, in which costumed actors stand in for otherworldly spirits. Customers can get the adrenaline rush of scary "monsters" popping out at them for a few minutes without any risk of getting their souls stolen or becoming possessed. But real-lif­e haunted houses are a different story. Sure, there are plenty of paranormal enthusiasts who intentionally stay in haunted hotels and hunt for ghosts. But what if ghosts found their way into your home? If the poll results mentioned above are accurate, these uninvited guests aren't such an uncommon occurrence.

­According to the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP), there are some things to pay attention to if you suspect your house is haunted. You may have some brooding banshees or bothersome bogeymen on your hands if you experience the following: see apparitions, hear weird sounds, smell odd odors, feel "cold spots" within a room, notice objects that have been moved or observe your pet acting agitated [source: ASSAP]. The five places on the following pages have certainly filled that bill, becoming the world's most notorious real-life haunted houses.

5. Whaley House

Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Calif., is one of the spookiest haunted houses in the United States. For 38 years, proprietor Sarah Winchester ordered construction workers to work on the bizarre home that famously contains a stairway leading nowhere. To learn more about the house, read Why does the Winchester Mystery House have stairs leading to nowhere?

­The Whaley House in San Diego was originally built on the execution grounds of James Robinson, nicknamed Yankee Jim. In 1852, Yankee Jim was convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to death by hanging. The hangman set the noose improperly, allowing Jim's feet to graze the ground, prolonging the hanging process. In 1856, Thomas Whaley bought the land where Yankee Jim had been killed and built a house for his own family. According to the youngest Whaley daughter, she could hear the sound of boots clomping through the house and suspected it to be the ghost of Yankee Jim.

Today, the Whaley House is a registered historic site and museum. Visitors and employees have reported seeing or hearing the ghosts of former owners Thomas and Anna Whaley. Thomas' ghost usually resides near the landing at the top of the staircase, while Anna's stays downstairs or in the garden. Television host Regis Philbin is among those who claimed to have seen Mrs. Whaley's ghost. Scents of cigar smoke and perfume have also mysteriously arisen at times. Because of the frequency of such ghost sightings, the Whaley House has been cited as one of the most haunted houses in the United States.

4. Faces of Belmez

English School/Getty ImagesCast faces, like this one of Oliver Cromwell, appeared in the flooring of a Spanish home.

A small cottage in the southern Spanish province of Jaen, in the town of Belméz, isn't haunted by ghosts, per se. The house is built, however, on burial grounds dating back to 1830 [source: Schweimler]. Inside the kitchen, the floor contains an unsolved mystery that has puzzled scientists and laymen for decades. Maria Goméz Pereira, who lived in the house, discovered a face peering up at her from her kitchen floor in 1971. Instead of a two-dimensional apparition, the face resembled a plaster casting that seemed to rise from beneath the house, as though a head was buried right below it.­­

Spooked by the strange façade, Pereira and her neighbors attempted to get rid of it by chipping away the cement with an axe. Yet upon doing so, they revealed more face casts, this time of older men and children. As word spread about the so-called "faces of Belméz," scientists stepped in to verify their authenticity and test whether they were paintings or fake castings orchestrated by Pereira and her neighbors. The painting theory was ruled out, but no conclusive evidence exists to pinpoint exactly how the faces got there.

3. Blickling Hall

In October 2007, the National Trust of England named Blickling Hall the most haunted home in the country [source: McDermott]. Located in Norfolk, England, the stately house is said to have a special guest stop by every spring.

Blickling Hall was one of Anne Boleyn's childhood homes. Boleyn was the second of King Henry VIII's six wives. Henry was obsessed with having a male heir to the throne and consequently divorced Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, because none of the males she gave birth to survived. He gave it another go with Anne Boleyn, who also failed to produce a son (but did give birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I). To arrange his second divorce, the king cooked up adultery charges against Boleyn that stuck. Her punishment of allegedly cheating on one of the world's most powerful men at that time was death.

­

­On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded. Every year, on the anniversary of her execution, Boleyn's headless ghost arrives at Blickling Hall in a carriage drawn by a headless horseman. But she hasn't lost her head completely in the afterlife -- she carries it along with her during her hauntings.

2. Rose Hall

­The tales of the murderous Annie Palmer of Rose Hall still frighten children in Jamaica. Built in 1770, Rose Hall was a sugar cane plantation and home to Palmer and her husband. Palmer grew up in Haiti and learned voodoo from her nanny, which would later serve her in her dastardly schemes.

Robert Harding/­Getty ImagesAnnie Palmer, known as the White Witch, lived in Jamaica's Rose Hall.

When Palmer became sexually unsatisfied with her husband, she began sleeping with slaves on the plantation. In order to keep them quiet about the affairs, she either killed these men or ordered other slaves to do so. Wanting to gain sole possession of her husband's wealth, she poisoned her first husband and later married and killed two other men [source: Belanger]. Her twisted sexual escapades continued as well. In case she encountered a man unwilling to pleasure her or a slave trying to escape, Palmer had a pit dug 16 feet (4.8 meters) below the house where she would banish these people [source: Belanger]. As her nefarious reputation spread around the island, she became known as the White Witch.­

­According to legend, Palmer cast a fatal voodoo hex on a housekeeper who caught the eye of one of her lovers. Supposedly, the housekeeper's grandfather later strangled Palmer to death [source: Belanger]. Her body was buried in an aboveground coffin in the eastern wing of Rose Hall. The White Witch's spirit, along with those of the slaves she had murdered, continued to haunt the house. When new tenants attempted to move into Rose Hall, they were quickly driven away from the haunted grounds. Eventually, in 1965, a couple bought the house and converted it into a museum. Yet even today, visitors and employees have reported hearing men's screams and doors slamming,as well as other paranormal phenomena.

1. The White House

­Glowimages/­Getty ImagesAbraham Lincoln's ghost still hangs around the White House, particularly in the Lincoln bedroom.

It must be hard for former presidential couples to adjust to life outside of the White House. After four or more years, they probably get used to never having to take out the trash, wash dishes or change a light bulb, not to mention the other amenities afforded to the most powerful people in the Western world. Perhaps that's why some have stuck around after their terms -- and lives -- ended. That's right, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is not only the most famous address in the United States, but also one of the most haunted.­

John and Abigail Adams were the first presidential couple to live in the White House, taking residence in 1800. Abigail has lingered ever since, and her ghost is said to hang laundry in the East Room on occasion. Another first woman, Dolley Madison, has been quite territorial with White House renovations. During her husband's term, Dolley oversaw the landscaping of the Rose Garden, where presidents often meet with the media. When President Woodrow Wilson's wife tried to have the garden dug up, the story goes that Dolley's ghost appeared and instructed the workers not to tear up her beloved garden.

Going along with a rose theme, the Rose Room is known as a paranormal hotspot in the White House [source: Scott and Norman]. It not only houses the bed of President Andrew Jackson but his ghost as well, which has been heard walking around the room. People have seen Abraham Lincoln's ghost ambling down the halls and staring out of windows. He pays visits to the Lincoln bedroom at times as well.

­Don't believe us? The White House Web site has a page devoted to its ghost sightings, once spotted by notable residents such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter's daughter.

> A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40thwedding anniversary. On their special day a goo d fairy ca m! e to themand said that because they had been so good that each one of them couldhave one wish.

The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband.

Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.

The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger...Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!!

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.

However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.

An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set."

The study's lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.

"In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better," said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study.

The two-year study was done by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation. It found the contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.

Researchers tested one batch for each of 10 brands. Eight did not have contaminants high enough to warrant further testing. But two brands did, so more tests were done and those revealed chlorine byproducts above California's standard, the group reported. The researchers identified those two brands as Sam's Choice sold by Wal-Mart and Acadia of Giant Food supermarkets.

In the Wal-Mart and Giant Food bottled water, the highest concentration of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, was over 35 parts per billion. California's limit is 10 parts per billion or less, and the industry's International Bottled Water Association makes 10 its voluntary guideline. The federal limit is 80.

Wal-Mart said its own studies did not turn up illegal levels of contaminants. Giant Food officials released a statement asserting that Acadia meets all regulatory standards. Acadia is sold in the mid-Atlantic states, so it isn't held to California's standard. In most places, bottled water must meet roughly the same federal standards as tap water.

The researchers also said the Wal-Mart brand was five times California's limit for one particular chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane. The environmental group wants Wal-Mart to label its bottles in California with a warning because the chlorine-based contaminants have been linked with cancer. It has filed a notice of intent to sue.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Shannon Frederick said the company was "puzzled" by the findings because testing by suppliers and another lab had detected no "reportable amounts" of such contaminants. She said Wal-Mart would investigate further but defended the quality of its bottled water.

The researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants drink tap water with a carbon filter.